Part of the training I'm doing with Victor is loose leash training. I would love to get him to the point where he walks nicely by my side more than 90% of the time. Right now, we're probably at about 60%. Most of the time I walk him with a head halter, which makes it really obvious to him when he is getting far ahead and combined with the loose leash training helps him slow down at least enough for me to catch up.
The training recommended by the class is the back up method. Whenever the dog pulls (however small, because if you let them get away with it, they will continue to think it is all right), you walk backwards the way you came. Because walking backwards isn't as fast and it is over areas that you've already been it isn't as much fun for the dog. I think it is also supposed to make the point much more clear than if you turned around and walked at your normal pace, because then the dog doesn't get the message that something was not right.
With the head halter, I usually need to walk backwards once near the beginning of the walk to remind him of how things are supposed to work and once near the end when he is excited to get home. Without it, I walked backwards about 5-6 times easily. Near the end of the walk he was getting better.
I really want Victor off of the head halter, because he has a few behaviors I dislike that are a direct result of the halter including rubbing his face on everything and anyone we talk to (more than normal). I don't bring him to as many puppy playtimes, because with the halter on he is less inclined to play with the other dogs and more inclined to rub his face on the floor for an hour.
So, two weeks of loose leash training and two walks without the head halter. I think with some time and effort I can make this work, but right now it is just an aggravating task. Except, of course, when he stays next to me long enough that I feed him treats. Victor is definitely getting the better end of the bargain.
